Group Submission by: Betsy McCray, Holly Smith, and Val Kling

The disciples scattered, hid, despaired, lied and felt bereft of all confidence and hope on what we now call Good Friday.  Away from home, watching their Master’s death and fearing their own, surely nothing felt   like it would be good again.   

Sometimes the world breaks our constructs, upsets our equilibrium and pulls apart our parameters.  But God is a redeemer, even when we don’t see how at first.  Often, God  works from the inside out to draw light from darkness, life from death, newness from oldness.

When members from Third Church retreated from Richmond to Shrinemont, they opened themselves to renewal.  Leaving typical church-y parameters at home, everyone from kids to the elderly risked offering their imaginations to God for how He might wish to fire them up for new life.

The retreat’s art experience invited people, not only to go outside into nature, but also to go inside their imaginations.  The challenge: How could participants use random found objects to fashion a little home, a nest of sorts?

Some artworks took on a (big!) life of their own, with ambitious and creative young teens constructing an inverted nest or teepee-like structure. Most creations were ephemeral, with the only records being photography of, conversations about, and memories of the experience.

This church group had an extra reason to examine and practice the art of nest-building. Just as birds construct nests for a season, out of the detritus of their surroundings, this congregation is engaged in creating a temporary worship home, using the materials at hand. While their existing church building is renovated over the next 18-24 months, they have moved to a local shopping mall, into a two-story, now-disused Forever 21 store. Whatever shelving, displays and fixtures that were abandoned are being scrutinized for use in the temporary church home. Function and beauty are equal considerations.

The mixed group that gathered at the start of the designated time for an outdoor art experience felt tentative.  A first glance around the wooded area, littered most obviously with brown oak leaves and broken branches, offered little promise for an interesting sculpture of any kind.  Encouraged to wander a bit and explore more possibilities, though, children and adults alike discovered a rich array of natural materials: colorful leaves, berries, grass hair, feathers, moss, holly, cattails and more.  Excitement grew as they tried their hand at various shapes and interpretations of nests. 

While the primary materials were found scattered about on the ground and in the woods, an open basket of tumbling twine, ribbons and laces interested some participants.  These too were found objects, in a sense.  Some stretches of lace had been tatted by Betsy’s great grandmother; bits of ribbon and twine had personal histories, as well.  Just as bird nests often include both natural and manmade parts, so did many of these artful nests.

On the hunt for beauty beneath, behind, beside the deadness around them, these contemporary disciples felt God firing their imaginations and clearing their vision.  Hope arose from disappointment.